CONN 

S 

43 

.E22 

no.106 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2011  with  funding  from 

LYRASIS  members  and  Sloan  Foundation 


http://www.archive.org/details/babcockmethodofdOOnewh 


4-3 
no,  |<z 


O.  E.  S.  LIBRARV.  OOP.  a. 


THE 


Connecticut  Agricultural  Exueriment  Station, 

NEW    HAVEN,    CONN. 
BULLETIN     No.     106. 

MARCH.    1891. 


The  Bulletins  and  Reports  of  this  Station   are  mailed  free  to 
every  citizen  of  Connecticut  who  applies  for  them  seasonably. 


OOITEKTS 


The  Babcock  Method  of  Determining  Fat  in  Milk  and  Cream  for  the 

Use  of  Creameries 2 

I.  Determination  in  Milk 2 

Details  of  the  Method. ... 2 

Rapidity 3 

Cost  of  Test 3 

Accuracy 4 

Sampling 4 

Use  in  Creameries. 6 

II.  Determination  in  Cream 9 

Analyses  of  Butter  from  Exhibit  at  the  Dairymen's  Meeting 9 

Fertilizers  11 

Duties  of  Dealers 11 

Gratuitous  Analyses 12 

Trade  Values  for  1891 12 

Valuation  of  Mixed  Fertilizers    13 


2 


THE    BABCOCK    METHOD     OF     DETERMINING     FAT 

IN  MILK   AND   CREAM  FOR  THE   USE 

OF  CREAMERIES. 

The  object  of  this  Bulletin  is  to  call  the  attention  of  those  con- 
cerned to  the  fact  that  there  are  now  rapid,  practicable  and 
accurate  methods  of  finding  the  per  cent,  of  fat  in  cream  and 
milk  which  are  suited  to  the  needs  of  creameries. 

By  their  use  it  is  possible  to  pay  for  milk  or  cream  by  the  only 
fair  method,  i.  e.,  by  the  actual  quantity  of  fat  in  them,  the  raw 
material  which  the  creamery  manufactures. 

There  are  several  methods  of  determining  fat  which  are  both 
rapid  and  accurate.  All  of  them  we  have  tested  more  or  less, 
but  our  experience  leads  us  to  regard  the  Babcock  Method  as  the 
most  desirable  being  as  rapid  and  as  accurate  as  any  and  sur- 
passing all  others  in  simplicity.  It  should  be  said,  however,  that 
others  who  have  had  as  much  experience  as  ourselves  prefer  the 
so-called  Beimling  Method.  There  is  no  question  that  the  choice 
at  present  lies  between  these  two  methods. 

Determination  of  Fat  in  Milk. 

Details  of  Making  the  Determination. — The  principle  of  the 
Babcock  Method  is  this  :  to  a  carefully  measured  quantity  of  the 
milk  in  a  flask  provided  with  a  narrow  accurately  graduated 
neck,  made  for  the  purpose,  is  added  a  definite  quantity  of  strong 
oil  of  vitriol  which  dissolves  all  the  solid  matters  of  the  milk 
except  the  fat.  The  flasks  thus  charged,  are  rapidly  whirled  in 
a  centrifugal  apparatus  by  which  all  the  fat  is  brought  to  the 
surface  of  the  mixture  in  a  few  minutes.  Hot  water  is  then 
added  to  raise  this  layer  of  melted  fat  into  the  graduated  neck  of 
the  flask.  The  length  of  the  fat  layer,  as  read  off  on  the  gradu- 
ation, gives  at  once  the  per  cent,  of  fat.  Full  particulars  regarding- 
the  manipulation  are  provided  with  the  machine. 

A  considerable  number  of  creamery  men  and  dairy  men  have 
availed  themselves  of  the  invitation  given  in  our  last  Bulletin  to 
visit  the  Station  and  see  the  method  in  operation  and  we  believe 
it  will  pay  for  any  in  the  State  who  think  of  getting  this  Tester 
to  see  it  here  and  learn  some  particulars  of  manipulation  that  can 
be  better  appreciated  by  seeing  than  by  reading  of  them. 

The  apparatus  is  sold  by  Messrs.  Cornish,  Curtis  &  Greene,  Ft. 
Atkinson,  Wis. 


Rapidity  of  the  Test. — This  depends  largely  on  the  skill  and 
activity  of  the  operator.  In  the  Station  laboratory  at  the  time 
of  this  writing,  a  person  skilled  in  handling  such  apparatus,  hut 
who  has  worked  with  this  method  only  a  few  times  has  made 
determinations  of  fat  in  40  samples  of  milk  in  an  hour  and  forty- 
eight  minutes. 

This  included  time  spent  in  mixing  the  milk  in  the  sample 
bottles,  measuring  both  milk,  acid  and  fat,  labelling  and  cleaning 
all  the  flasks  and  apparatus  used,  recording  the  results,  and 
leaving  every  thing  in  perfect  order  for  the  next  use  ;  in  short 
every  thing  involved  in  any  way  with  the  operation.  This  is 
more  than  twice  as  rapid  work  as  we  were  able  to  do  at  first  and 
is  made  possible  simply  by  having  the  apparatus  conveniently 
arranged  for  the  work. 

Cost  of  the  Test. 
The  price  list  of  Messrs.  Cornish,  Curtis  &  Greene  is  as  follows: 

Sizes  and  Prices. 

4-bottle  Tester $10.00 

6-bottle  Tester 12.00 

8-bottle  Tester 14.00 

10-bottle  Tester 16.00 

15-bottle  Tester 18.00 

20-bottle  Tester 21.00 

30-bottle  Tester 24.00 

25-bottle  Power  Machine 38.00 

35-bottle  Power  Machine 43.00 

50-bottle  Power  Machine 50.00 

Each  machine  has  its  full  complement  of  bottles  with  pipettes,  acid 
measure  and  acid  sufficient  for  50  to  100  tests,  when  shipped,  for  which 
no  charge  is  made.     We  sell  at  list  price. 

Boxing,  50  cents. 

Extras. 

Pipettes each,  $0.50 

Acid  Measure "  .50 

Test  Bottles - .dozen,     5.00 

Acid  for  110  Tests,  in  glass .60 

For  machines  or  further  information  write  the  sole  manufacturers. 

If  desired  this  Station  will  test  for  purchasers  within  the  State 
the  accuracy  of  the  graduation  on  the  test  bottles  furnished  with 
the  machine. 


Accuracy  of  the  method. — The  accuracy  of  this  method  of 
determining  the  quantity  of  butter-fat  in  whole  milk  has  been 
fully  tested  at  several  stations  and  is  settled  beyond  dispute. 

Our  own  tests  have  given  the  following  results.  The  average 
difference  between  the  quantity  of  fat  shown  by  this  method 
and  that  shown  by  the  standard  method  used  in  chemical  labora- 
tories, was  less  than  one  one-hundredth  of  one  per  cent,  in  32 
comparative  tests.  The  greatest  difference  in  any  single  case 
was  .18  per  cent.  In  six  cases  the  difference  exceeded  .10  per 
cent,  and  in  18  cases  it  was  .05  or  less. 

In  1*7  cases  the  standard  method  gave  a  lower  result  than  the 
Babcock  method,  in  15  cases  a  higher  result. 

That  is,  on  the  average,  where  ioo  pounds  of  butter-fat  were  actually 
present,  the  Babcock  test  showed  99ia0ao  pounds. 

The  widest  discrepancy  in  any  single  case  was  xta0-  pound  or  about 
three  ounces  of  fat  in  ioo  pounds. 

In  the  majority  of  cases  the  discrepancy  was  f  of  an  ounce  or  less  in 
ioo  pounds  of  fat. 

Accuracy  of  sampling  indispensible. — To  get  a  perfectly  fair 
sample  of  each  patron's  milk  is  the  most  critical  thing  of  all.  As 
soon  and  as  often  as  milk  stands  at  rest,  its  constituents  begin  to 
separate,  the  cream  rising  to  the  surface.  The  contents  of  a 
forty  quart  can  may  be  thoroughly  mixed  with  a  long  handled 
dipper  if  time  and  pains  are  taken  to  do  it,  but  it  will  require 
more  time  than  one  who  has  not  tried  it,  would  suppose  to 
thoroughly  mix  the  whole  so  that  different  samples  from  the 
same  can  will  show  the  same  quantity  of  fat  when  tested. 

For  sampling  large  quantities  of  milk,  the  Vermont  Station, 
Bulletin  No.  21,  recommends  a  sampling  tube.  This  is  simply 
a  piece  of  brass  tube  of  suitable  length  and  an  inch  in  diameter, 
having  an  iron  wire  running  through  it,  centered  by  a  wire  loop 
within  the  tube  near  each  end.  One  end  of  this  wire  is  bent  to 
form  a  handle,  the  other  bears  a  disc  of  sheet  iron  with  a  rubber 
packing  over  it.  The  tube  is  passed  vertically  downwards  in  the 
milk,  the  disc  being  kept  away  from  the  tube  allowing  it  to  fill 
as  it  goes  down.  Then  the  wire  ;s  drawn  up,  thus  closing  the 
bottom  of  the  tube,  and  the  tube  is  withdrawn,  bringing  with  it 
a  core  or  section  of  milk,  which  should  represent  accurately  the 
whole  quantity  of  milk. 

Frequency  of  sampling  and  of  analysis. — In  the  bulletin 
already  quoted,  Prof*  Cooke  recommends  analyzing  the  samples 


5 

once  a  week,  but  sampling  the  milk  of  each  patron,  three  or  more 
days  in  each  week.  One  way  in  which  this  may  be  done,  he 
describes  as  follows: — 

Method  of  Sampling  Recommended. 

Have  a  pint  glass  fruit  cau  of  the  lightning  jar  pattern  for  each  patron 
of  the  creamery  ;  these  jars  to  be  permanently  numbered  with  metal 
labels  wired  to  the  jar,  and  each  patron  to  have  a  number  corresponding 
to  the  one  on  the  jar.  In  the  bottom  of  each  of  these  jars,  put  one- 
twentieth  of  an  ounce  of  powdered  corrosive  sublimate,  to  which  has 
been  added  one  one-hundredth  of  its  weight  of  acid  magenta,  or  any 
other  of  the  anilin  colors,  that  would  not  be  destroyed  under  the  condi- 
tions present.  In  this  way  any  milk  which  has  the  poisonous  corrosive 
sublimate  in  it  will  have  such  a  vivid  pink  color  that  there  will  be  no 
danger  of  any  one  drinking  it  by  mistake  or  of  its  being  fed  to  animals. 
Any  day  in  the  week  a  correct  sample  of  the  milk  measuring  one-fourth 
of  a  pint  taken  either  by  a  sampling  tube  or  a  dipper  is  put  into  this  jar. 
Any 'other  day  in  the  week  a  second  sample  of  the  same  size  and  taken 
in  the  same  way  should  be  added.  A  third  sample  taken  on  any  other 
day  may  also  be  added,  if  great  accuracy  is  desired.  The  patron  should 
not  know  beforehand  what  day  these  samples  are  to  be  taken,  and  they 
need  not  be  taken  the  same  day  for  all  the  patrons.  The  cans  can  be 
prepared  Saturday  morning  and  samples  taken  any  day  during  the  week, 
so  that  the  patron  can  never  be  sure  when  he  brings  his  milk  whether  or 
not  a  sample  is  to  be  taken  from  that  day's  milk.  At  the  end  of  the 
week  the  mixed  sample  is  analyzed  and  its  analysis  considered  to  repre- 
sent the  average  character  of  the  milk  delivered  during  the  week. 
Three  samples  would  certainly  be  enough  to  represent  the  average  char- 
acter of  the  milk  for  any  one  week,  and  two  samples  a  week,  taken  each 
week  for  a  month,  would  certainly  be  enough  to  correctly  represent  the 
average  character  of  the  milk  for  the  month.  This  amount  of  corrosive 
sublimate  will  keep  the  milk  for  ten  days  in  the  hottest  weather,  and 
does  not  interfere  with  the  accuracy  of  the  analysis,  when  the  method 
of  analysis  described  in  this  bulletin  is  used.  But  corrosive  sublimate 
cannot  be  used  for  preserving  the  sample  when  any  of  the  methods  of 
extracting  the  fat  by  ether  is  used. 

When  corrosive  sublimate  is  added  to  samples,  and  those  samples  are 
held  for  several  days  in  a  ■warm  room,  it  is  necessary  to  be  quite  careful 
in  the  handling  of  the  milk  to  prevent  it  churning.  The  samples  cannot 
be  carried  from  one  place  to  another  by  team  or  on  the  railroad  without 
danger  of  their  churning,  and  even  the  mixing  should  be  done  with  care 
and  done  entirely  by  pouring  instead  of  by  shaking. 

Prof.  Cooke  also  shows  that  it  is  not  necessary  that  the  separate 
samples  should  be  proportional  in  size  to  the  quantity  of  milk 
each  day  furnished.  The  error  caused  by  taking  samples  of 
uniform  size  each  day  is  inappreciable. 


6 

The  Use  of  the  Method  in  Creameries. — This  method  can  be 
applied  to  the  testing  of  cream  equally  well,  as  we  shall  notice 
later,  but  applied  to  milk  it  is  chiefly  valuable  to  those  cream- 
eries of  which  there  are  a  number  in  this  State,  and  a  very  large 
number  in  neighboring  States,  that  collect  or  receive  milk  instead 
of  cream,  and  either  set  it  or  remove  the  fat  by  the  separator. 
At  present  payment  is  made  by  the  hundred  weight  of  milk  sup- 
plied, with  little  or  no  regard  to  quality. 

The  great  objection  to  such  methods  is  that  they  encourage 
patrons  to  aim  at  quantity  rather  than  quality  of  milk,  to  keep 
cows  that  are  large  milkers  instead  of  rich  milkers,  to  feed  for 
quantity  rather  than  quality  of  milk,  and  in  some  cases  that  have 
been  brought  to  our  notice,  to  reduce  milk  which  was  considered 
too  good  for  the  price  paid  for  it  with  water. 

Still  others  who  would  scorn  to  add  water,  see  no  harm  in 
taking  a  little  cream  for  family  use  from  the  top  of  a  can  after 
it  has  stood  over  night. 

One  great  advantage  of  the  cream  gathering  system  is  that  it 
reduces,  though  it  does  not  by  any  means  eradicate  the  tempta- 
tion or  the  opportunity  to  "  beat "  the  creamery  and  the  honest 
milk  producer. 

The  Babcock  method  offers  to  creameries  a  practicable  and 
accurate  method  of  finding  out  how  much  butter-fat  each  patron 
daily  supplies  to  it. 

This  being  done  it  is  possible  to  pay  not  for  pounds  of  milk 
but  for  actual  butter-fat. 

This  is  obviously  the  only  satisfactory  method  of  payment, 
and  wherever  introduced  it  renders  watering  or  skimming  un- 
profitable and  gives  to  those  who  furnish  the  richest  milk  a  fair 
price  for  it. 

To  illustrate: — 

Since  the  24th  of  October  last  this  Station  has  determined  the 
fat  in  206  samples  of  milk  carefully  taken  at  creameries  from  the 
cans  of  mixed  milk  brought  by  individual  patrons.  Each  sample 
therefore  represented  the  mixed  milk  of  a  herd.  Most  of  them 
were  from  a  single  milking,  a  few  were  perhaps  mixtures  of 
morning  and  night's  milk. 

The  average  per  cent,  of  fat  in  these  was  3.98  or  in  round  num- 
bers four  per  cent.  That  is  if  this  whole  quantity  of  milk  had 
been  mixed  thoroughly  together,  a  hundred  weight  of  it  would 
have  contained  four  pounds  of  butter-fat. 


But  as  was  to  be  expected  the  milk  from  the  individual  dairies 
was  of  various  quality.  The  milk  of  one  herd  contained  5.25 
per  cent,  of  fat,  that  of  another  3.28  per  cent,  of  fat,  and  while  the 
percentage  varied  somewhat  from  day  to  day  yet  the  milk  of 
certain  herds  was  uniformly  rich  in  fat  while  that  of  other  herds 
was  as  uniformly  poor. 

These  figures  mean  that  a  hundred  pounds  of  milk,  furnished 
by  one  patron  brought  to  the  creamery  five  and  a  quarter  pounds 
of  fat,  but  a  hundred  pounds  of  milk  from  his  neighbor's  herd 
brought  only  three  and  a  quarter  pounds.  This  is  an  extreme 
case.  If  for  illustration  we  assume  that  the  milk  of  A's  herd 
contains  5  per  cent,  of  fat  and  that  of  B's  herd  3.5  per  cent,  we 
have  a  difference  between  the  herds  which  is  not  by  any  means 
extreme  in  Connecticut  to-day. 

A  and  B  we  will  suppose  produce  the  same  quantity  of  milk 
per  week,  1500  pounds,  and  are  paid  at  the  rate  of  $1.10  per  hun- 
dred or  about  2-^-^  cents  per  quart.  (The  actual  price  paid  by 
different  creameries  is  not  known).  Their  receipts  are  therefore 
the  same,  $16.50  per  week. 

For  this,  A  furnishes  to  the  creamery  75  pounds  (1500  X  yto) 
of  butter-fat  and  B  furnishes  52^  pounds. 

That  is,  crediting  nothing  to  the  skimmed  milk  of  which  each 
patron  supplied  the  same  quantity  ;  A,  the  patron  who  produces 
the  richer  milk,  who  has  the  better  cows  or  who  feeds  more 
rationally  gets  22  cents  a  pound  for  butter-fat,  and  B  the  patron 
whose  milk  is  the  poorest,  whose  herd  is  poor  or  feeding  inju- 
dicious gets  31.4  cents  a  pound.  This  is  a  premium  of  10  cents 
per  pound  of  fat  on  thin  milk,  or  poor  stock  and  feeding,  or  on 
judicious  watering  of  the  milk. 

It  presents  little  inducement  to  better  the  herd  or  to  feed  for 
quality  rather  than  quantity  of  milk. 

It  is  obviously  very  unfair  to  all  the  parties  concerned  and 
bears  hardest  on  A  who  has  an  exceptionally  good  herd  or  who 
feeds  exceptionally  well. 

Now  suppose  this  creamery  changes  its  policy  and  offers  as 
before  $1.10  per  hundred  for  "standard"  milk  containing  four 
per  cent,  of  fat  but  allows  2f  cents  per  hundred  additional  for 
every  "  unit  "  or  tenth  of  a  per  cent,  of  fat  more  than  four  in  the 
milk  and  deducts  2f  cents  per  hundred  for  every  "unit  "  or  tenth 
per  cent,  under  four. 


The  two  accounts  will  stand  as  follows  : 

A.  Milk  contains  5  per  cent,  of  fat. 

15  hundred  weight  of  milk,  @  $1.10 $16.50 

Add  for  10  units  per  hundred,  or  150  units  of  fat  @  2|  cents 4.13 

S20.63 

B.  Milk  contains  3.5  per  cent,  of  fat. 

15  hundred  weight  of  milk,  @  $1.10 $16.50 

Deduct  for  5  units  per  hundred,  or  75  uaits  of  fat  @  2f  cents 2.0T 

$14.43 

Under  this  arrangement  A  has  received  $20.63  for  his  1500 
pounds  of  milk  and  has  furnished  75  pounds  of  butter-fat.  He 
has  therefore  received  27|-  cents  per  pound  for  the  butter-fat. 

B  has  received  $14.43  cents  for  52-|  pounds  of  butter-fat,  and 
for  each  pound  27.5  cents,  the  same  that  his  neighbors  receive  for 
a  like  amount  of  butter-fat. 

Neither  A  nor  B  can  increase  their  receipts  by  watering  or 
skimming  milk  nor  by  increasing  the  flow  of  milk  at  the  expense 
of  quality. 

These  particular  prices  are  for  nothing  more  than  to  illustrate 
the  point.  The  actual  rate  to  be  paid  must  depend  of  course  on 
what  the  creamery  can  produce  butter  for  and  sell  it  for. 

It  is  believed  that  the  practice  of  paying  for  butter-fat  rather  than 
for  milk — which  is  rendered  practicable  by  the  methods  referred  to  in 
this  Bulletin — will  gradually  reduce  the  cost  of  producing  butter,  will 
increase  the  profits  of  the  honest  and  intelligent  patrons  and  offer  more 
inducement  than  there  now  is  for  improving  herds  and  feeding  liberally 
and  for  quality  rather  than  quantity  of  milk. 

It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  Tester  shows  the  percentage 
of  pure  batter-fat  in  the  milk,  not  of  "  cream "  or  of  butter. 
"  Cream  "  varies  much  in  composition  and  may  contain  as  low  as 

16  per  cent,  of  pure  butter-fat  or  as  high  as  30  per  cent,  or  even 
higher.  Butter  contains  from  75  to  87  per  cent,  of  jmre  butter-fat, 
see  analyses  on  page  10  of  this  bulletin.  More  or  less  of  the  but- 
ter-fat of  the  milk  however  is  lost  in  butter  making,  chiefly  in  the 
skimmed  milk  and  in  the  butter  milk. 


Determination  of  Fat  in  Cream. 

The  same  method  Dr.  Babcock  has  applied  to  cream  with 
success  and  our  own  experiments  also  have  convinced  us  that  the 
fat  in  cream  raised  in  deep,  submerged  cans,  can  be  accurately 
and  easily  determined  by  the  Babcock  Method,  the  cream  being 
measured  in  the  same  way  as  milk  with  some  slight  changes  in 
manipulation. 

They  have  also  given  a  further  illustration  of  what  was  well 
known  before,  that  even  where  the  milk  of  different  herds  is  set 
in  the  same  way  the  actual  fat  in  a  "  space  "  or  any  unit  of 
volume  varies  very  considerably,  a  space  of  cream  from  one  herd 
containing  a  good  deal  more  or  less  of  actual  butter-fat  than  that 
from  another.  In  a  Bulletin  shortly  to  be  issued  the  determina- 
tion of  fat  in  cream  by  the  Babcock  Method  will  be  fully  discussed. 


BUTTER   ANALYSES. 

In  a  following  table  are  given  the  analyses  of  eleven  samples  of 
butter  from  private  dairies  and  six  samples  of  creamery  butter. 
These  butters  were  entered  in  the  exhibit  at  the  Connecticut 
Dairymen's  Association  which  met  in  Hartford,  Jan.  20-22,  1891. 
The  score  of  points  for  each  butter  is  also  given.  The  method  of 
making  award  was  as  follows:  Number  of  possible  points,  100. 
Minimum  number  allowed  in  awarding  premiums  85.  Divide  the 
total  premium  by  the  total  number  of  points  scored  above  the 
minimum.  The  quotient  is  the  amount  to  be  awarded  for  each 
point  scored  above  the  minimum. 

To  illustrate  :     Of  the  creamery  butters, 

No.  9  scored  14  points  above  the  minimum. 


14 

10 

4 

3 

0 


Total  points  scored 45.     Total  premium  to  be  divided  $70.00.     Each 

point  scoring  above  the  minimum  therefore  gets  Jg  =  $1,555  and  the  premiums 
awarded  are  as  follows : — 

No.  9  and  No.  7,  each  $21.78,  No.  4,  $15.55,  No.  1,  $6.22  and  No.  5,  $4.67. 


10 


Private  Dairy  Butter. 
Scale  of  Points. 


Perfect. 

No.  5. 

No.  11. 

No.  4. 

No.  6. 

No.  7. 

No.  2. 

No.  1. 

No.  8. 

No.  9. 

No.  3. 

No.  10. 

Flavor  _ . 

50 

43 

45 

46 

44 

40 

47 

30 

21 

20 

20 

15 

Grain 

25 

23 

23 

23 

22 

23 

22 

24 

17 

15 

15 

5 

Color  . . . 

.      15 

15 

15 

12 

12 

12 

6 

15 

14 

13 

13 

3 

Salt  .... 

5 

5 

4 

4 

5 

3 

3 

4 

4 

3 

1 

1 

Package 

5 

5 

4 

5 

5 

5 

1 

5 

0 

4 

3 

0 

Total 


100 


96 


!)1 


90 


83 


79 


78 


56 


55 


52 


24 


Analyses. 

Water 10.86  11.01  12.27  8.59  12.74  11.54  10.09  10.99  10.04  9.37  11.38 

Curd .   1.32  1.28  .91  1.44  1.42  2.00  1.83  2.53  .94  1.24  1.11 

Salt 1.86  5.23  1.18  2.32  2.76  4.11  4.22  3.47  2.44  7.83  6.1&- 

Fat 85.96  82.48  85.64  87.65  83.08  82.35  83.86  82.01  86.58  81.56  80.73 

100.0  100  0  100.0  100.0  100.0  100.0  100.0  100.0  100.0  100.0  100.0 

Specific  gravity 
of  the  butter-fat 

at  100°  C .8666  .8644  .8667  .8646  .8646  .8657  .8640  .8642  .8652  .8650  .8662 


Creamery  Butter. 

Scale  of  Points. 

Perfect.         No.  9.          No.  7.          No.  4.          No.  1.          No.  5.  No.  6. 

Flavor. 50             49             50             48             46             49  44 

Grain 25             25             25             23             22             21  21 

Color. 15              15             14             15             13             10  9 

Salt J 5               5               5               4               3                3  3 

Package 5               5               5               5               5               5  5 

Total 100             99             99             95             89             88  82 

Analyses. 

Water 11.38          8.89        11.38          7.97          8.35  6.54 

Curd .96            .94          1.18            .90          1.00  1.58 

Salt 2.65          2.14          3.17          2.88          2.30  3.96 

Fat 85.01         88.03        84.27        88.25        88.35  87.92 

100.00       100.00      100.00       100.00       100.00  100.00 

Specific  gravity  of  the  butter 

fat  at  100°  C .8644        .8648        .8647         .8644         .8645  .8646 

The  judge  of  the  creamery  butter  was  Mr.  H.  K.  House  of  the 
Allyn  House,  Hartford  ;  of  the  private  dairy  butter,  Mrs.  Thomas 
Fairclough  of  Waterbury.  Tunxis  Creamery,  Robertsville,  and 
Greens  Farms  Creamery,  Westport,  took  first  premiums. 


11 


The  average  composition  of  the  creamery  and  private  dairy 
butters  and  the  range  of  percentage  of  each  ingredient  are  as 
follows  : 


Creamery  Butter. 

Private  Dairy  Butter. 

Range  of 

Average 

Range  of 

Average 

percentage. 

composition. 

percentage. 

composition 

"Water 

6.5-11.4 

9.1 

8.6-12.7 

10.8 

Curd 

.9-  1.6 

1.1 

.9-  2.5 

1.5 

2.0 

1.2-  1.8 

3.8 

Fat 

84.3-88.4 

86.9 

80.7-87.7 

83.9 

100.0 

100.0 

The  private  dairy  butters  which  received  the  lowest  grading 
for  flavor,  grain  and  salt  were  ones  which  had  the  very  abnor- 
mally high  per  cents,  of  salt  (6.78  and  7.83). 

It  is  somewhat  surprising  that  No.  11,  with  5.23  per  cent,  of 
salt,  should  have  scored  as  high  as  it  did. 

The  creamery  butter  as  a  rule  carried  3  per  cent,  more  of 
actual  butter  fat  than  the  private  creamery  butter. 


FERTILIZERS. 

Duties  of  Dealers  in  Fertilizers. 

The  Connecticut  Fertilizer  Law  holds  the  seller  responsible 
for  affixing  a  correct  label  and  statement  of  composition  to  every 
package  or  lot  of  fertilizer  sold  or  offered  for  sale.  Purchasers, 
for  their  own  security,  should  insist  that  such  statements  are 
supplied. 

Evert  Person  who  sells  commercial  fertilizers  in  Connecticut 
is  also  required  by  law  to  report  certain  facts  to  the  Director  of 
this  Station  and  a  penalty  is  provided  for  neglect  to  do  this. 

The  law  also  holds  the  Seller  responsible  for  the  payment  of 
an  analysis-fee  on  every  brand  of  fertilizer  sold  by  him  in  case 
the  fee  is  not  paid  by  the  manufacturer  on  or  before  the  first  of 
May  annually. 

Copies  of  the  law  will  be  sent  on  application. 


12 

Gratuitous  Analyses  of  Fertilizers. 

The  Station  by  its  authorized  agents  draws  samples  of  all 
brands  offered  for  sale  in  all  parts  of  the  State  and  when  possible 
sends  its  agents,  on  request,  to  sample  large  lots  of  goods  bought 
by  Granges  or  Farmers'  Clubs. 

The  cooperation  of  farmers'  organizations  is  nevertheless  de- 
sired in  calling  attention  to  new  brands  of  fertilizers,  and  in 
securing  samples. 

To  insure  justice  to  manufacturers,  dealers  and  consumers 
alike,  the  Station  will  make  gratuitous  analyses  of  Commercial 
Fertilizers  only  on  samples  taken  by  the  Agents  of  the  Station, 
or  on  such  other  samples  as  are  fully  described  on  the  Station 
Forms  for  Description  and  taken  in  accordance  with  the  Station 
Instructions  for  sampling,  and  furthermore  are  properly  authenti- 
cated by  the  certificate  of  the  person  drawing  the  sample,  and  in 
addition  the  witness,  either 

1.  Of  a  Selectman  ; 

9.  Of  an  Officer  of  a  farmers'  club,  grange  or  local  agricultural 
society  ;  or 

3.  Of  the  Dealer  from  whose  stock  the  sample  is  taken. 

In  case  a  Dealer  takes  samples  of  his  own  stock,  the  witness  of 
one  of  the  Officers  aforesaid  will  be  required. 

It  is  particularly  necessary  that  the  actual  cost  prices  be  given. 
In  case  of  special  rates  the  Station,  if  desired,  will  hold  confiden- 
tial both  the  names  of  the  seller  and  buyer,  but  to  make  the 
results  of  analysis  of  any  general  value,  and  so  to  justify  making 
the  analyses  at  all  it  is  essential  to  know  the  cost  of  the  material. 

The  Trade-Values  for  1891  of  Fertilizing  Ingredients  in  \ 

Raw  Materials  and  Chemicals. 

The  average  Trade- Values  or  retail  cost  per  pound  of  the 
ordinarily  occurring  forms  of  nitrogen,  phosphoric  acid  and 
potash  are  as  follows  : 

Cts. 
per  lb. 

Nitrogen  in  ammonia  salts 18£ 

nitrates 14-J 

Organic  nitrogen  in  dry  and  fine  ground  fish,  meat  and  blood 15 \ 

in  cotton  seed  meal  and  castor-pomace 15 

in  fine  bone  and  tankage - -  15 

in  fine  medium  bone  and  tankage 12 

in  medium  bone  and  tankage .-  9  J 

in  coarser  bone  and  tankage 7$ 

in  hair,  horn  shavings  and  coarse  fish  scrap 1 


13 

Phosphoric  acid,  soluble  in  water 8 

iu  ammonium  citrate*.. 7| 

in  dry  ground  fish,  fine  bone  and  tankage 7 

in  fine-medium  bone  and  tankage 5| 

in  medium  bone  and  tankage 4| 

in  coarser  bone  and  tankage 3 

Potash  as  high-grade  Sulphate  and  in  forms  free  from  Muriate  (or  Chlorides)  5£ 

as  muriate 4^ 

These  Trade- Values  are  the  average  prices  at  which  in  the  six 
months  preceding  March  the  respective  ingredients  could  be 
bought  at  retail  for  cash  in  our  large  markets,  Boston,  New- 
York  and  Philadelphia,  in  the  raw  materials  which  are  the 
regular  source  of  supply.  They  also  correspond  to  the  average 
wholesale  prices  for  the  six  months  ending  March  1  st,  plus  about 
20  per  cent,  in  case  of  goods  for  which  we  have  wholesale  quota- 
tions. They  have  been  agreed  upon  by  the  Experiment  Stations 
of  Massachusetts,  New  Jersey  and  Connecticut  for  use  in  their 
respective  States  during  1891.  The  valuations  obtained  by  use 
of  the  above  figures  will  be  found  to  agree  fairly  with  the 
average  retail  price  at  the  large  markets  of  standard  raw  ma- 
terials such  as : 

Sulphate  of  Ammonia,  Azotin, 

Nitrate  of  Soda,  Ammonite. 

Dried  Blood.  Dry  Ground  Fish, 

Muriate  of  Potash,  Bone  or  Tankage, 

Sulphate  of  Potash,  Ground  So.  Carolina  Rock, 

Plain  Superphosphate. 

Valuation  of  Superphosphates,  Special  Manures  and  Mixed 
Fertilizers  of  High  Grade. 

The  Valuation  of  a  Fertilizer  consists  in  calculating  the  retail 
Trade-value  or  cash-cost  at  trade  centers  (in  rawr  materials  of 
good  quality)  of  an  amount  of  nitrogen,  phosphoric  acid  and 
potash  equal  to  that  contained  in  one  ton  of  the  fertilizer. 

To  obtain  the  Valuation  of  a  Fertilizer  we  multiply  the  pounds 
per  ton  of  Nitrogen,  etc.,  by  the  trade-value  per  pound.  We 
thus  get  the  values  per  ton  of  the  several  ingredients,  and  adding 
them  together  we  obtain  the  total  valuation  per  ton. 

*  Dissolved  from  2  grams  of  the  unground  phosphate  previously  extracted  with 
pure  water,  by  100  c.  c.  neutral  solution  of  Ammonium  Citrate,  sp.  gr.  1.09,  in  30 
minutes,  at  65°  C,  with  agitation  once  in  five  minutes.  Commonly  called  "re- 
verted "  or  "  backgone  "  Phosphoric  Acid. 


14 

Organic  nitrogen  in  Mixed  Fertilizers  is  reckoned  at  15-J  cents, 
the  price  of  nitrogen  in  raw  materials  of  the  best  quality. 

Insoluble  Phosphoric  Acid  is  reckoned  at  2  cents.  Potash  is 
rated  at  4-|  cents,  if  sufficient  chlorine  is  present  in  the  fertilizer 
to  combine  with  it  to  make  muriate.  If  there  is  more  Potash 
present  than  will  combine  with  the  chlorine,  then  this  excess  of 
potash  is  reckoned  at  5^  cents. 

In  most  cases  the  valuation  of  the  Ingredients  in  Superphos- 
phates and  Specials  falls  below  the  retail  cash  price  charged  for 
these  goods  at  the  factory.  The  difference  between  the  two 
figures  represents  the  manufacturer's  charges  for  converting  raw 
materials  into  manufactured  articles  and  selling  them.  These 
charges  are  for  grinding  and  mixing,  bagging  or  barreling,  stor- 
age, commission  to  agents  and  dealers,  interest  on  investment;, 
and  finally,  profits.  If  the  purchaser  buys  on  credit,  the  price  of 
the  fertilizer  is  commonly  made  to  cover  interest. 


■ 


University  of 
Connecticut 

Libraries 


39153029145192 


